Acc.13367 October 2013

Inventory

Acc.13367

William Crosbie

National Library of Scotland Manuscripts Division George IV Bridge EH1 1EW Tel: 0131-623 3876 Fax: 0131-623 3866 E-mail: [email protected]

© Trustees of the National Library of Scotland

Papers, 1933-1972, of the artist William Crosbie (1915-1999), with related printed material, circa 1943-1990. This small collection of material was apparently cleared from his studio at 12 Ruskin Lane, Glasgow, many years after his death.

William Crosbie was born in Hankow, China, to Scottish parents. He moved to Glasgow in 1926 and studied at Glasgow School of Art from 1932 to 1934, after which time he was able to travel in Europe on a Haldane Travelling Scholarship. From 1937 to 1939 Crosbie lived in Paris, where he studied under Léger and Maillol. In the 1940s and 1950s Crosbie made his name as a mural painter. His commissions included a mural for the Festival of Britain in 1951. Crosbie also produced illustrations for books and designed the scenery for a ballet. (Information from National Galleries of Scotland website)

Bought, 2012.

1-11. Correspondence. 12. Diary. 13. Artwork. 14-15. Photographs. 16. Financial. 17-19. Miscellaneous. 20-21. Printed items.

1-11. Correspondence.

1. Letters from Archibald and Mary Crosbie, parents of William Crosbie, 1933-1946, but mostly undated. With two letters of Archibald to Mary, 1913.

2. Letters of Grace Crosbie, William Crosbie’s first wife. 1934, 1946, but mostly undated.

3. Letters from Glasgow School of Art, 1935-1944, with a few related papers. Includes a number of letters of William Oliphant Hutchison, director of the School from 1932 to1943. With draft letter of William Crosbie applying for a teaching post at the School in 1948.

4. Letters of Glen Crosbie, younger brother of William Crosbie. 1936- 1946.

5. Letters of friends and family, 1936-1972 and undated. Includes two letters of Christopher Grieve, 1943 and undated.

6. Letters from various galleries and art-related bodies. 1937-1968 and undated. Correspondents include T & R Annan & Sons; The Society of Scottish Artists; The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts; Southern Art Club (Glasgow); Helensburgh and District Art Club; ; Scottish Arts Council; Arts Council of Great Britain; Glasgow Art Club (with copy of ‘Constitution and Rules and List of Members 1945’); Brook Street Art Gallery (London); Glasgow Art Gallery & Museum (several letters from the director, T J Honeyman); National Gallery of Scotland (one letter from Stanley Cursiter).

7. Papers relating to William Crosbie’s status as a Conscientious Objector during the Second World War, 1940-1943. Includes forms and correspondence relating to his application to be entered on the Conscientious Objectors’ Register and subsequent appeals; with documents giving evidence of war support work undertaken or attempted.

8. Solicitors’ letters, 1940-1957; papers, 1948-1957, relating to Archibald Crosbie’s estate.

9. Telegrams, 1940-1946, from various correspondents.

10. Letters of Anne Roger, William Crosbie’s second wife. 1960.

11. Letters of Pauline Crosbie, William Crosbie’s daughter, 1965-1966, 1972; with four long letters of William Crosbie to his daughter, 1966.

12. Diary.

12. Small ring-bound pocket-book containing a few diary entries from 1941.

13. Artwork.

13. Artwork, all unattributed but, with the exception of the lithograph, presumably by William Crosbie. Lithograph of ?Chinese letters; sketch of Edinburgh skyline, St Giles and Forth Road Bridge; 2 drawings of boats, one on the same sheet as a faint ?chalk pastel head drawing; 3 prints of a Christmas card.

14-15. Photographs.

14. Photographs, mainly unidentified and undated, but including a few in which William Crosbie features, circa 1950s-1960s.

15. Large photograph of model, made by William Crosbie, of proposed post-Blitz reconstruction of ‘new town of Clydebank’. (Information from William Crosbie’s curriculum vitae – see Acc.13367/18.)

16. Financial.

16. Financial papers, 1941-1948. Includes an account book, ‘Affairs of Crosbie Studio at 12 Ruskin Terrace [sic], Glasgow, W12 from 1944’, mostly blank, but in the first few pages income and expenditure, 1944-1946, are recorded.

17-19. Miscellaneous.

17. Miscellaneous writings: (i) ‘The Mural Craft needs attention’, essay by William Crosbie, 1946. Typescript. (ii) Translations by D M Dunlop: ‘Majnoon and Lailah’ by Shauqi Bey, translated from the Arabic; ‘The Rule for the Solitary’. Carbon typescripts. (iii) ‘Religious drama’, essay, no identified writer. Carbon typescript.

18. Miscellaneous. Includes curriculum vitae, circa 1955, a selection of art postcards, and a magazine article on the artist Ivan Albright.

19. Ephemera. Includes tide tables for Oban and Tobermory, 1939; Piccadilly Club (Glasgow) Membership Rules; small leather stamp wallet; various business cards.

20-21. Printed items.

20. Catalogues of exhibitions featuring the work of William Crosbie, 1943- 1957.

21. Printed items.

William Crosbie retrospective. Exhibition catalogue, undated. The Glasgow School of Art calendar, 1932-1933. Vincent Van Gogh, 1853-1890. An exhibition of paintings and drawings. Arts Council, 1948. The Glasgow Academy. Prosepctus, session 1933-34. Nomads Club. Annual dinner, 17 March 1958. The Nomads Club. Annual dinner, 21 March 1960. Scotland on the Screen, undated The Comedy of the white dog, Alasdair Gray. 1979. With manuscript dedication by Alasdair Gray, 1981. and letters. No.3. The Glasgow Art Review, nos. 3-4, 1946-1947. The Scottish art review. Vol II, 1i; vol. III, 1 and 3, 1948-1951.